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More wood was removed from forests in 2005 than ever before, one of many troubling environmental signs highlighted on Thursday in the Worldwatch Institute's annual check of the planet's health.
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More wood was removed from forests in 2005 than ever before, one of many troubling environmental signs highlighted on Thursday in the Worldwatch Institute's annual check of the planet's health.
The Washington-based think tank's "Vital Signs 2007-2008" report points to global patterns ranging from rising meat consumption to Asian economic growth it says are linked to the broader problem of climate change.
"I think climate change is the most urgent challenge we have ever faced," said Erik Assadourian, director of the Vital Signs project.
"You see many trends in climate change, whether we are talking about grain production which is affected by droughts and flooding. Or meat production as livestock production makes up about 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions," he told reporters in a telephone interview before the report's release.
Assadourian said the key message of the report was that unsustainable consumption patterns were responsible for climate change linked to carbon emissions and other ecological woes.
He said of the 44 trends tracked by the report, 28 were "pronouncedly bad" and only six were positive.
The trends range from the spread of avian flu to the rise of carbon emissions to the number of violent conflicts. The growing use of wind power is among the few trends seen as positive.
Some of the points highlighted in the report include:
- Meat production hit a record 276 million metric tons (43 kilograms or 95 pounds per person) in 2006.
- Meat consumption is one of several factors driving rising soybean demand. Rapid expansion of soybean plantations in South America could displace 22 million hectares (54 million acres) of tropical forest and savanna in the next 20 years.
- The rise in global seafood consumption comes as many fish species become scarcer. In 2004, people ate 156 million metric tons of seafood, the equivalent of three times as much seafood per person than in 1950.
Other analysts and think tanks have focused on different trends they say mean less cause for alarm. For example, they point out that while more wood is being removed from forests on a global scale, many parts of Europe and North America have experienced reforestation in recent decades.
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(Agencies) |
上周四，世界觀察研究學會一年一度的“地球健康體檢”報告出爐。2005年，地球的森林砍伐量創歷史新高，這是該報告強調的眾多環境問題征兆之一。
該駐華盛頓智囊機構在一份題為“地球生命征兆2007-2008”的報告中指出，從肉類消費量的不斷增長到亞洲經濟發展等各種全球性態勢與氣候變化這一顯著問題都有關系。
“地球聲明征兆2007-2008”項目的負責人埃里克?阿薩多利安說，“我認為氣候變化是人類有史以來所面臨的最嚴峻的挑戰”。
在報告公布前，阿薩多利安在接受記者的電話采訪時說，“我們可以看到氣候變化中出現的眾多趨勢，比如，糧食生產受到洪澇災害的影響；以及肉類生產，據統計，家禽飼養過程中所產生的溫室氣體占溫室氣體總排放量的20%”。
阿薩多利安說，這份報告的主題是，二氧化碳排放及其它生態災難引起氣候變化，“不可持續”的消費模式才是氣候變化的罪魁禍首。
據他介紹，在報告中提到的44種與氣候變化有關的趨勢中，有28種“尤為不利”，僅有六種具有積極意義。
這些趨勢包括禽流感的蔓延、二氧化碳排放量的增加、以及暴力沖突的增加等。風能使用的日益增多是僅有的幾大積極趨勢之一。
報告中的一些重點包括：
--2006年，肉類生產量創2.76億噸（人均43公斤/95磅）的最新記錄。
--肉類消費量的增加是造成大豆需求不斷增長的幾大因素之一。在南美洲，大豆種植面積迅速擴大，這可能會導致未來20年熱帶森林和熱帶草原面積減少2200萬公頃（5400萬英畝）。
--很多魚類品種日益稀少，全球海鮮消費量增加。2004年，全球共消耗1.56億噸海鮮產品，人均消費量相當于1950年的三倍。
也有分析人士和相關智囊機構在關注另外一些趨勢，他們認為這些趨勢可以降低“警報級別”。
例如，盡管全球森林砍伐量創新高，但歐洲和北美的很多地區近幾十年來一直在進行再造林。
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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